1. Precis:
In America, people who do not have health insurance pay extreme amounts of money to get treatment when they are sick – however, so do people who do have health insurance. HMOs do not have any incentive to treat people, because that would mean they would lose money. Countries like Canada, France, and Cuba have national health care that covers everyone, and in any situation. This is made possible because people basically pay for their health care when they pay taxes – in other words, health care in those countries is socialized – a word that people in America are taught to fear.
2. Evidence:
a. Two specific points of evidence that Michael Moore used to bolster his argument:
- 18,000 uninsured Americans will die this year.
- Canadians live (on average) 3 years longer then Americans do.
b. The first point was important for supporting his thesis because it demonstrates how people who are uninsured are more likely to have medical problems extreme enough that they could die, since they haven't been covered by health insurance, and therefore will be less likely to see a doctor in the case of illness.
c. (Examine sources)
d. I checked whether the quote about 18,000 uninsured Americans dying this year was true. This piece of evidence seems to be legitimate. Micheal Moore cites the source for that fact on the website for Sicko, and another citation for it can also be found here.
3. Response:
The main reaction to the movie that I experienced was just the feeling of being disappointed in the country I live in. It reminded me (yet again) how much better other countries like Canada and France are, because the government provides basic care to the people who live there. There was also a part of the movie where Micheal Moore is sort of making fun of the American way of life: Work to get into school, work hard so you can get a job that will pay off your student loans, never quit that job because if you do you'll be buried in a mountain of debt, get a second job, and take pills and drink coffee to make it all better. This is similar to how Micheal Pollan describes the American way of eating: Don't enjoy your food, eat it solely for it's nutritional value, or enjoy your McDonald's and get fat and unhealthy and die early.
In both of these ways, Americans seem to fall into both extremes. There's the work too hard and eat only nutritious food side, and the slack off a little and eat fast food side. It seems weird, to look at statistics about life in the United States, and see how much they contradict common sense. We have a longer school year then other countries, yet we don't test nearly as well in math and science. Americans work more and have less vacation time then other countries, yet we aren't as productive. (I have sources of evidence for all of these claims, which I will post as soon as possible).
All in all, it seems like Americans don't enjoy their lives as much as people in other places (namely Europe). The only motivation for doing well in school seems to be to get good grades to get into a good college to get a good job (in other words, one that pays well). The motivation for working seems to be to make money to buy things. I feel like people here don't enjoy their lives as much as they should. We don't learn for the sake of learning or study things we like - we do it to get jobs. We don't get jobs we like, which makes us unhappy and unfulfilled. We try to buy things to make us happy, but it doesn't work. This goes back to something Morrie says in Tuesdays with Morrie: "We live in a culture that doesn't make people feel good about themselves." He goes on to say that people buy too many things and don't appreciate their family and friends enough. Reading this is probably what brought me to that conclusion as I was watching Sicko.
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